Improved keel for ships and other navigable vessel



2 Sheet'y-Sheet 1.

J. B. TARR, v KBEL FOR SHIPS OR OTHER NAVIGABLE VESSBLS.

No. 47,879,. V Patented May 23,;1865.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J.B.TARR.

KEEL FOR sans OR OTHER NAVIGABLE VESSELS. 1N0. 47,879.. Pa 't-ented May 23, 1865 UNITED S A ES PATENT OFFICE.

J. B. TARR,CHIGAGO, ILLINOIS.

I IMPROVED KEELFOR SHIPS AND OTHER-NAVIGABLE VESSELS;

Specification forming part of Letters PatentNo.- 47,S79, date(l-May,,23, 1865 ZZ whom itmay concern:

' Be it known that I, ,J. BaTARR, of Chicago,

in. the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Keels of Ships and-other Vessels; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,

' clear,: and, exact description thereof,-which will enable those skilled'in the art to make and use the'sanie, reference being badto the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in'which 1 Figure 1-, represents. a vessel with my improvement applied thereto Fig. 2 shows a plan view of my improvement as seen when the vessel is inverted.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

In order to "explain and describemy inven tion the inore clearly, it is properjto state'that ordinarily the vessels which navigate the lakes are notprovided with keels, because of the large proportion of shallow water abounding in-those-lakes, and thereore, instead of keels they are provided with center-boards. whose construction and operation need not be here particularly described further than tostate that the vessels are provided with long wells extending in the center of their width about 1 two-thirds the whole length of the vessel, of a width sufficient for the free ascent and descent of the center-board. This well of course rises above the deck, and its sides are made stout and sealed against leakage by calking and other means. The center-board required is of various degrees of strength, according to the tonnage of the vessel, and its weight must be such as to sink it readily when lowered by the Windlass. This weight is such in-a vessel of, say, five hundred tons as to require four or five men at a well-geared Windlass to raise it partially up within its well. The center-board is not a successful substitute for the keel, because in a stiff wind, when a vessel is sailing on a .course like that shown in the drawings very often the center-board is broken in two by the strain, and the vessel will then be driven ashore and wrecked or damaged and the cargo wholly or partially lost. Oftentimes also the upper part of the well-hole is so thumped by the constant vibration of the board as to be weakened and broken, so as to v cause that part of the vessel to leak. The

same thing occurs in the lower part of the well 3 i when :the center-board is drawuup abovethe bottom line' of the .vessel. This is the chief cause why grain and other cargoes brought to Buffalo and other places from Chicago and other Western ports arrive in a wet and dam aged condition,requiring to be passed through grain-dryin g machines before they areoflered for sale; vice which will enable a yessel to .navigate those shallow waters without-resort to Lthe cumbrous centenboard and without the deep keels necessary for navigating deep wa ers will be of great advantage tow the public as well as the navigator.

My invention consists'in constructing a keel which shall expand laterally on each side'of thelon gitudinal center of the vesselsbottom er as seen in l ig. 1, so as partially to inclose a The vessel iuthe drawings is distinguished by the letter a and the vertical keel by the letter 1). The vertical keel b is to be made very shallow, merely serving as the foundation of the horizontal keel c, which is bolted to it very The horizontal keelc is-to extend from the is to be of a width about-in proportionto that shown in the drawings. The total vertical both keels to the lower face of the horizontal shallow water. 4, v r

The operation of the horizontal keelis to take hold upon or partially to inclose a large body of water on each side of the vertical keel, so as to prevent the lateral displacement of the. water, and thereby/to hold the vessel steady in her course. The angles or angular spaces subtended between the bottom of the vessel and the upper faces of the horizontal keel are clear that the resistance of thehorizontal keel against lateral forcewill be increased in pro portion to the extension of its faces laterally. The horizontal keel may be of one piece, 'secured directly to the bottom of the vessel so shown in Fig. 1'.

Itis evident therefore that any .de-'

large body of water on each side thereof.

strongly, so as to be able to resist every pos-w .sible strain arising in ordinary navlgatlon.

' run ofthe bow to the run of the stern gradually subsiding. intor'the keel atthose points, and

distance from the bottom of the vessel through keel should be from ten to eighteen inches, so as to enable the vessel to move in exceedingly to vary with the size of the vessel, and it isas to leave an angularspace on each side, as

My improvement will also apply as well riverand coastwise navigation as upon the lakes. Itshould be remarked also that whenever a vessel that depen (ls upon acenter-board approaches a coaster shoal by accident it becomes necessary to raise the board to prevent i b from being broken, when if the shoal or coast is to the leeward the vessel is at once at the 'mercy of the wind andcurreni, being deprived The horizontal keel 0, when constructed and applied as herein specified, so that its upper surface will be nearly parallel with the ships bottom and its edge on the lee side will present an acute angle to the water while the ship is careened to any extent.

' J. B. TARR.

Witnesses:

WM. I MQNAMARA. M. M. LIVINGSTON. 

